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The rock of redundancy: Ars reviews Guitar Hero 5

Guitar Hero 5 is here, with an ultra-casual mode, new competitive modes, and …

The first Guitar Hero title was released in November of 2005—that's almost four years of Guitar Hero. We're on the fifth sequel, if you count World Tour as the fourth title, which Activision apparently does. This may be called Guitar Hero, but you can use your microphone, and you can hook up your drum set. This is more World Tour 2 than it is Guitar Hero 5, but admitting that might mean that Band Hero would seem even more redundant when it comes out.

And of course, we're not even counting the Nintendo DS titles, nor the band-specific releases like the bargain bin-tastic Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and the completely metal Guitar Hero: Metallica. The quality may be all over the place, but the strategy is clear: this series is going to be slammed down your throat until you choke. Besides, if you buy this, you'll get Guitar Hero: Van Halen for free! If that doesn't show you the kind of confidence everyone has in both of these releases, I don't know what will.

The music blares, the notes come down, you play plastic instruments. Rhythm games are now a known quantity, and the novelty has certainly worn off. Is there enough of a jump here to justify the price of a new game, or are you better off buying more tracks for the Guitar Hero or Rock Band you already own? Let's find out.

Your new hardware

Gamers who pony up the $99.99 for the guitar pack-in this go around get the pictured plastic guitar, and this time there are no new features or new ideas to get excited about. Does that mean you can safely skip the hardware and just buy the game?

Maybe not. If you're happy with the guitars you have and want to save some money, there is no real reason to get this. It doesn't do anything specific to the game. One the other hand, both the buttons and the strum bar feel great; this may be the most impressive Guitar Hero guitar made yet. It's solid, well-constructed, and screams quality. Sure, you may still get some pretty loud clicks, but the strum bar feels more precise than past models, and the whammy bar is likewise well appointed.

Plus, it looks nice. This may be a case of an existing design being perfected more than the ideas behind the guitar moving forward, but that's not bad. I don't feel ripped off, and if you need another guitar or want to replace an aging one, this is a great piece of plastic.

Party Play helps the ultra-casual

Party Play is one of the most interesting additions to Guitar Hero 5. Basically, the game plays songs from the soundtrack while the animated characters do their thing in the background, and at any point you can pick up a guitar and jump in and play. There are no scores and no rock meter—so you can't fail out—and you can change your difficulty at any time. You can also change your instrument at any time if you want to play bass instead of guitar.

If someone decides they want to join in, they need only pick up another instrument and play, or jump on the drums and join, or grab a microphone and sing. When they're done, they can drop out whenever they'd like, and when the last person drops out the game simply reverts to a pure visualizer with the animated band playing. There are no limits to how you can play; if four players want to play guitar on the song at different difficulty levels, you can do that. Three drummers and a bassist? That's okay too.

The idea is you let the game play in the background at parties, and if someone hears something they like, they can jump in. If no one wants to play the song, another random track from the game will play, or you can set up your own playlist. So you can't fail, you can start and stop and any time, and you can jump easily from song to song within the interface. This is a great way to get people interested in the game, or to simply practice tracks without any fear of failing.

Some people may never use the Party Play feature, but it's neat that it's in there. A mix of a virtual jukebox, screen saver, and Guitar Hero game, it adds an extra level of accessibility to the experience.

Having now seen game footage of Kurt Cobain "rocking out," I'm way more offended about his inclusion in the game. He doesn't even remotely behave like Kurt Cobain! This is worse than that Pepsi (I think) ad that had a CGI Elvis dancing to a remix of "A Little Less Conversation" way back in the day.

Also, just for everyone's information, "Under Pressure" is supposed to be part of a 10-song DLC track pack for Rock Band to be released in October according to Wired.

My mates, and I guess myself much prefer the note chart circles in guitar hero. I must admit I find guitar hero much easier to play. But I love everything else about rock band and over time, have become much more proficient at rock band. At a party though, I struggle to interest Guitar Hero players in rock band..they whine that it's "too hard" or "feels off". It's not calibration it's just demands more accuracy from players.

Investing in a Guitar Hero library has me very interested, but cmon less than 50% of WT and a supposed some time in the future SH support? AND you have to pay for the one time privilege? Talk about coming to the party late and in poor form...

I'll be glad when these horrible guitar games finally die and the pretenders and casuals fade away and developers stop pandering to them.Hillarious that you have to PAY MONEY for the privilege of playing songs you already bought! Total cash grab if I ever saw one, but moron guitar heroes seem eager and excitied to be scammed over and over so I guess I can't blame them. In a responsible programming environment the guitar hero game would be an open engine with fully available and compatible song files while receiving regular updates. But of course in consoleland that would interupt the corporate cashflow and so games come in annual identical "sequels" for 99 bucks a pop while you pay seperatly per song!? It's more pathetic than World of Warcraft. What a crock, I'm overjoyed I never got sucked into this garbage heap of an industry.

Party Mode sounds cool. Not sure what it has to do with casual play; at a party at least one band member is going to be slightly inebriated and the game quickly gets turned off when you fail the same song at the same point 3 times in a row. I cannot believe it really took this long to get a no-fail mode implemented.

Originally posted by PsionEdge:can you import songs on the wii? I only have a wii so this is important to me.

Yeah, the Wii version is all there, and even has some funky DS compatibility. The system doesn't even copy the songs off the SD card to Wii memory any more, it plays them straight from the card. Vicarious Visions deserve a medal for their efforts on the Wii.

Anyway, I am very excited by this, hopefully Activision continues to work on getting all of the other songs off the discs. I am curious as to whether there will be a separate charge for the later imports or whether the $3.50 will cover the lot.

Yawn. Party mode might be fun for a bit, but no-fail modes just can't grab people's attention. After 5 minutes yyou realise it doesn't matter if you hit the notes. There's no tension, no difficulty and no game. So you wack the difficulty up to expert and play for slightly longer than it takes to go, "Look at thims dude, LOL, WTF!!!" Then you switch it off, put some good music on the stereo and go drink some more beer.

Beatles has me far more excited for the party play. The harmonies and the fact that everybody knows the Beatles means party play will work. Both GH and RB have failed so far because no one ever wants to sing the 90% of songs that they don't know or that don't fit their voice.

there's only 13 songs on there that I would have a moderate desire to play repeatedly, and a few more that I wouldn't mind playing once. Still, even with all the extra cruft that I couldn't care less about, Sultans of Swing might make it worth it...in about a year when it reaches the clearance shelf.

Originally posted by Glyphon:there's only 13 songs on there that I would have a moderate desire to play repeatedly, and a few more that I wouldn't mind playing once. Still, even with all the extra cruft that I couldn't care less about, Sultans of Swing might make it worth it...in about a year when it reaches the clearance shelf.

I've been a fan of Guitar Hero since the series started on PS2. But, to be honest, once I saw the tracklist, I really wasn't planning on buying this until it hit the bargain bin in 6-8 months. Stevie Wonder, Coldplay, Gorillaz, and the like are OK (I guess); but putting them in Guitar Hero makes me question the existence of pop-centric Band Hero. Why not stick to the ROCK that made Guitar Hero popular in the first place? While GH5 might still have a fair number of recognizable names in Rock; the song choices leave me scratching my head.

That said, I still preordered from Amazon, because free GH: Van Halen and twenty bucks of extras were too hard to pass up.

I just wish that Activision would learn something from Rock Band, and focus on the ability to play ALL of your songs in the same game. Importing tracks from GH:WT & GH:SH is a good step -- but this is nearly negated by only allowing around one-third of the songs to be imported.

If I'm remembering correctly (and please correct me if I'm wrong), you could import all of Rock Band's songs into its sequel, save for three songs. We'll also be able to import all of the Lego Rock Band songs into Rock Band 2. I'd imagine that chances are good that we'll be able to import all of those songs into Rock Band 3 (currently in production) as well.

That is quite the library of songs, and it excludes Rock Band's impressive library of downloadable content.

EDIT: @BrakDaddy I know that Rock Band has Muse's "Hysteria" for download currently. A start, but certainly not a lot at this point.

I would prefer that the next Rock Band sequel come with no tracks, but with a code to download 80 songs of my choice, instead of being packaged with a dozen songs that are cool to me and a bunch of garbage for the rest.

Originally posted by countcracula:I would prefer that the next Rock Band sequel come with no tracks, but with a code to download 80 songs of my choice, instead of being packaged with a dozen songs that are cool to me and a bunch of garbage for the rest.

Hey, that is a good idea.

On topic: Eh. I'll wait for the Beatles. Their music is such pure fun. I can't wait.

Originally posted by beyondtool:At a party though, I struggle to interest Guitar Hero players in rock band..they whine that it's "too hard" or "feels off". It's not calibration it's just demands more accuracy from players.

Woah, wait a minute. Rock Band is “too hard”? I normally hear the opposite, and I know from personal experience that Rock Band is a brisk walk compared to Guitar Hero (3 and above, at least).

It compares the track list of GH5 to RB current (and near future) offerings. I'm amused that they don't list which Nirvana track is included in GH5, but otherwise it pretty much says what most of us already know. Why by iteration games with selective or no import capability when you have one with a perpetual library?

Beatles will be the first non-exportable Rock Band game (probably due to contract restrictions), but it looks as though Lego Rock Band is going to be exportable, which upgraded it from bargain-bin or pass to insta-buy for a lot of us.

Then add the 2 Queen songs on lego rock band to the listed 10 song queen pack to hit in October and I've got a couple of fingers to show to Activision.

Yeah, I admit I didn't play World Tour, but GH2 and 3 were much harder than Rock Band. In fact, I have never gotten beyond the second tier of songs in GH3 on Hard, while I can regularly complete songs on RB on Expert guitar.

I find it interesting that the review of Rock Band 2 is titled "Rhythm perfected" and given a buy rating, while Guitar Hero 5 is "The rock of redundancy" and only a rent. Guitar Hero 5 has some far more substantial improvements over World Tour than Rock Band 2 made over Rock Band. Rock Band 2 added a drum trainer, new play modes, and better sorting. Guitar Hero 5 has new play modes, change difficulty on the fly, change band on the fly, use any combination of instruments, better sorting, expert+ drums, and better graphics.

I haven't played Guitar Hero 5 enough to discover it's short falls, but so far they seem to have fixed almost all my grips about World Tour. Though, I expect GHTunes still won't get much use by me.

While I would prefer a huge play list, it irks me about the constant complaints of money grabbing directed at Guitar Hero for releasing a constantly improving game that comes with lots of songs. If you don't like it pay your $2 a song and play the same Rock Band 2 that you did a year ago. I like Rock Band 2, but there is plenty of room for improvement and I don't want to wait 2 years to see it.

Rock Band 2 was also released a year ago, and the rhythm game market is getting saturated with plastic guitars and $60 titles. If Guitar Hero wants to remain exciting and relevant, a few incremental upgrades aren't going to cut it.

Rock Band 3 will also have this challenge, so it's not like we're picking one game over the other in terms of who we like/cover.

Originally posted by Ben Kuchera:Rock Band 2 was also released a year ago, and the rhythm game market is getting saturated with plastic guitars and $60 titles. If Guitar Hero wants to remain exciting and relevant, a few incremental upgrades aren't going to cut it.

Rock Band 3 will also have this challenge, so it's not like we're picking one game over the other in terms of who we like/cover.

Haven't you figured it out Ben? Whatever you review has a bias, and you clearly prefer Console Maker A over Console Maker B. If you just liked what I liked the whole thing would be easier.

Originally posted by AnimusF6:Importing only 35 of GH: World Tour's 85 song library is pretty weak.

If I'm remembering correctly (and please correct me if I'm wrong), you could import all of Rock Band's songs into its sequel, save for three songs.

Lets put this in a different context...

Guitar Hero World Tour lets you import 35 songs, at least until they relicense more, which they have said they are in the process of doing. RockBand gave you 43 (I think), so only 8 more. Remember, Rock Band had a pathetically short set list, compared to World Tour and Rock Band 2. In fairness, Smash Hits has short set list too...

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Originally posted by malor89:I find it interesting that the review of Rock Band 2 is titled "Rhythm perfected" and given a buy rating, while Guitar Hero 5 is "The rock of redundancy" and only a rent.

You are joking aren't you? I am surprised that Ben didn't rate it Skip or Burn. There is a ridiculous amount of Activision hate on many gaming forums. Ben has consistently written articles attacking the Activision CEO, who has said a few stupid things about milking franchises.

Personally, I side with Activision because of the terrible treatment Australia has gotten from EA. First we had to wait a year for Rock Band, then they ship the sub-standard instruments (complete with the broken foot-pedal) and still can't even be bothered releasing Rock Band 2 over here.

But anyway, who cares, if you enjoy playing Rock Band that is great, but there is no reason I can't enjoy playing Guitar Hero. Me buying one game doesn't detract from your enjoyment of the game you chose to purchase.

The most frustrating thing for me I continue to read these articles and board despite the fact they are filled with people who just want to bag Activision and Neversoft while crawling so far up Harmonix's arse that the canary starts to look rather ill.

Originally posted by Ben Kuchera:Rock Band 2 was also released a year ago, and the rhythm game market is getting saturated with plastic guitars and $60 titles. If Guitar Hero wants to remain exciting and relevant, a few incremental upgrades aren't going to cut it.

You are joking aren't you? I am surprised that Ben didn't rate it Skip or Burn. There is a ridiculous amount of Activision hate on many gaming forums. Ben has consistently written articles attacking the Activision CEO, who has said a few stupid things about milking franchises.

I've also written very positive reviews for games like Guitar Hero: Metallica and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Not to mention a positive preview of the upcoming Tony Hawk title with the skateboard accessory.

But hey, don't like silly things like facts and evidence get in the way of bias complaints. :-)

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In that case I look forward to your skewering of Beatles: Rock Band.

Do you believe the two products are analogous? Even if you do, how have you played the game to know it's bad?

I believe that Rock Band has the business model right...tons of downloadable content, import vast majority of songs into one game, etc. But I honestly feel like the instruments and actual gameplay are terrible. I'm a musician (guitarist and drummer) and know when I should be playing the notes to the beat of the song and Rock Band is always off on the timing IMHO. Maybe it's my friend's AV setup that is causing some kind of delay with the audio to visual but I never have the same issue with Guitar Hero. Not only that, but the Rock Band 1 guitar is the worst rhythm game guitar i've ever used. Having said that, I still can't wait to play RB: Beatles.

I agree with Ben, the GH5 guitar is the pinnacle of plastic instruments. I was very impressed. Hopefully Activision will truly give the gamers what they want someday and quit needlessly restricting their products.

One thing that stood out for myself and a few of my friends that were over is how sharp and crisp the new GH5 seemed. Everything on the screen just popped. I know it's allot of the same as you've played before, but is that a bad thing when that is exactly what you wanted and enjoyed?

My only other comment is pointed at the rest of you complaining about the short list of imported songs and such... Why not point those comments to where they belong, the record companies. They are the ones that are now hampering our choices and song lists. Don't you think that the devs and Activision would both like to give us a huge list of songs playable on everything? Also, with the exception of Prince, don't you think the artists, from the huge U2 and such to the bands who are just barely getting out of the garage, would like to have us all jamming to their tunes? The ones holding us back are the fat cats and their lawyers trying to skin us and the devs for every penny and iota of control.

The skewering of Beatles: Rock Band, was meant as sort of a joke, because game play-wise the only change I'm aware of is adding harmonies to the vocals. I'm sure it will be very good.

I think "the rock of redundancy" title had me read the review more negatively than it actually is. Guitar Hero 5 hasn't revolutionize rhythm games, but it has fixed about everything that was wrong in World Tour and added a bunch of fun new stuff to boot, so it is far from redundant and a much needed change, similar to the change from Rock Band to Rock Band 2. Band Hero, however, will probably be redundant.

Guitar Hero 5 also adds a feature that I've always wanted, which I haven't seen mentioned anywhere. It lists the song length in the quick play menu, and you can even sort by length. So you don't find out the hard way that a song if far longer than you remember.

Yeah, but I'm not saying the game is bad. The songs are solid, and the improvements are cool. It's just not a must-buy, which is why I recommend people rent it first to see if they'll want to keep playing after the novelty of the new songs wear off.

The new guitar is great, you get Van Halen free, it's not like you're making a bad mistake buying this if you're a fan of the series.

my only real complaint - did they really have to change the calibration system AGAIN!?!

c'mon, it's worked fine for the last 3(4?) games, why change it now? GH3, GH:M and GH:SH (maybe GH:A but I haven't played it in a while) all have the exact same calibration system which means I can set them all to 30/0 vid/aud (headphones) or 65/0 vid/aud (speakers).

now they make a new system that switches them around. I now have to set audio lag to 30ms instead of video. why change it? it was working fine and it took me 3 songs to figure out how to get everything set in the new system.

anyway. happy to hear you can pull smash hits into this game as well as WT and DLC. I've always preferred GH to RB and this game is certainly raising the bar IMHO.

Ugh. The only reason I was even considering GH5 was when I heard you could import Smash Hits and World Tour for some consolidation. Now that I hear it's but a small fraction(35/85 and 21/48, less than half!) of each game, that pretty much seals it for me. Won't be looking at this one until it's in the $10 bargain bin. Bring on the Beatles!

The biggest thing that makes me want to play RB2 over GH:WT every time I play (aside from my 200+ song list selection in RB now) is that the song list (meaning how it is listed, not necessarily the songs themselves) in WT sucks. No listing the difficulty of each track? (or each part?) Not even being able to sort by difficulty? (sort by career I would guess kinda do that, but that doesn't seem to relate much to individual part difficulty). Generally I don't boot up RB with a few songs in mind I want to play. I'll start it up, jump in quick play (leaving it sorted by difficulty), hit the yellow fret button a couple times to jump past the easiest 1/6th of the songs (because most of the time, I want to have at least a little bit of action going on, otherwise I'd just listen to the music), and then scroll through songs from there looking for what I want to play. (the other sorting methods occasionally are also useful, if not just fun to look at, with my DLC I have more 80s songs then anything else I think)

So, my question for you Ben: have they fixed the song listing?

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Originally posted by Spinner:Guitar Hero World Tour lets you import 35 songs, at least until they relicense more, which they have said they are in the process of doing. RockBand gave you 43 (I think), so only 8 more.

There were 55 import songs actually. (RB had 48 'official' songs that were in Career mode, but there were 13 'bonus' songs outside of that, all of which are imported as well)

Yes, they have added individual difficulty ratings for each instrument in the song. And as I mentioned earlier they also list the song length, which can also be helpful in determining if you want to tackle the song.

Just finished messing around with quickplay some more. You can sort by the individual instrument intensity. When you make a play list, it tells you the duration for the list as you add songs. There is an option to turn off listing GHTunes, which I did. You can also turn on stats, which then list the number of stars, score, and percentage for all the different difficulties for each song. This is tracked separately for each instrument, only shows stats for current instrument or when playings as a band it shows band stats.